Chapter 51
A couple days later, Mike snorted a laugh as Kaito sneezed right in Beth's face.
"Delightful." Beth remarked drily. She looked to Kaito with an inured expression of 'I should've seen that coming' as she looked around for a cloth to wipe Kaito. "Where is all this snot coming from?" she asked him, Kaito grumbled and rubbed his face on her shoulder spreading fresh snot around. She gave a cringe worthy laugh as Mike smiled. "Ok, well, what's a little snot between family." she said to him.
"Better than vomit." Mike commented as he was resting on the couch. He'd tried to go to work the last couple days but he was completely useless sol there wasn't a point to him being there. He had to admit he was happy to be home, with Kaito sick too; he was able to help Beth and it felt good to actually take time off to get better than push through like he normally did.
"Yep, I'm so not escaping this cold, am I?" Beth asked with a smile as she cleaned up Kaito's face and laid him down onto Mike's chest.
"No, sorry- we Slattery men like to spread the love." Mike said as he cuddled Kaito close and kissed the top of his head.
"Well, you and Kaito can be two Mc Snotty faces and plot out your evil schemes together while I clean up." She informed him with a grin.
"That's not nice, we're very sick." Mike told her with a pout, Kaito pouted too making them the most adorable duo. Beth chuckled but just as she was about say something a knock sounded at the door.
"I know. It's handy with you both having a cold as you can steam in the shower together. Share grumbles." Beth said with amusement but he knew she was concerned. She hovered over him and Kaito, she made sure they were both well hydrated and in Mike's case medicated. She made him steam his face in some foul smelling concoction all with the intent of making him better.
"I don't grumble." Mike replied mockingly as Beth answered the front door.
"Tom." Beth said surprised. Mike shifted on the lounge to sit up as he saw Tom standing on the front stoop. Kaito didn't like the change of position, so Mike slouched a little on the couch until Kaito settled. He knew Kaito was drifting off to sleep as he was growing heavier and lax against him.
"Hey, can I come in?" Tom asked.
"We have colds in here." Beth informed him, Kaito sneezed and grumbled just prove her point.
"I'll take my chances." He replied, Beth stepped out of the way and Tom stepped in.
"Tom." Mike said before he smothered a cough and winced from his sore throat. He smoothed a hand down Kaito's back to soothe the baby back to sleep given they hadn't slept well last night.
"How are you?" Tom asked as he came into the lounge room careful to not disturb the mess of toys ad he sat down in the single seater. He frowned and pulled a plastic spoon from behind him and placed it on the coffee table.
"Miserable. What's going on?" Mike asked him, he really hoped it was nothing major as he just wanted to vegetate until his and Kaito's cold passed.
"I'll be in the kitchen." Beth said to them.
"Stay, I wanted to talk to you both." Tom said.
"Ok." Beth said somewhat awkwardly, she didn't want to say that Tom hated her. But they didn't have the best relationship which made her wonder why he wanted her to stay. She sat down next to Mike on the lounge and tried to look comfortable.
"Sasha and I bought the house next door." Tom said.
"Congratulations." Beth said with a smile.
"Yeah, which one?" Mike asked with a frown.
"Beresford's place." Tom said.
"Which one?" Mike asked, Beth playfully smacked his arm as Mike knew both their neighbours to know which house Tom had bought.
"That next door." Tom gestured, "Anyway, we close on the property in 30 days. I was hoping you two could help." Tom said.
"Sure," Mike said with a closed lip smile.
"Yeah. Anything." Beth added.
"Great, Beth, I need you to babysit Sasha." Tom told her, in a tone that was more of an order than an invitation.
"Sasha is not going to like that." Beth said with a frown, she was pretty sure if Mike said something like that to her; she would be ticked off.
"Sasha is pregnant with triplets and stress is bad. Moving house is stressful, so I'm going to book hotel room with a spa package." Tom told her, Mike and Beth's eyebrows rose in surprise.
"Not that, that doesn't sound lovely, but is Sasha a spa person?" Beth asked Tom, he gave a shrug. It was clear he had a plan mapped out and was just hoping for all the pieces to fall into place perfectly than actually make sure they fit.
"I don't know, but isn't part of being a girlfriend to push her out of her beauty comfort zones?" Tom asked her.
"I don't think you understand female friendships." Mike said with a snort of laughter.
"It's a good plan, she won't be trying to lift heavy things and it would be good for her de-stress in general. So you'll make sure she stays away from the house?" Tom asked Beth.
"Isn't she like a superhero who could break me in half with her bare hands?" Beth asked a little wary.
"Not exactly," Tom said with amusement.
"Not feeling reassured as Sasha is one of my few and favourite people in the world. So I think you gotta be upfront with her. If she's on board then I will hang out with her as her friend because she's an adult who doesn't need a babysitter." Beth said.
"She can be a little stubborn when she's not having her way." Tom told her.
"Not our problem." Mike said with a chuckle before he sputtered a chesty cough. Beth took a now awake and crying Kaito out of his arms so he could finish coughing.
"So, you're in if I can make it work." Tom asked as Mike left the room.
"Yes." Beth said as she soothed Kaito.
"Ok, I'm going to go before I catch whatever that is. Tell Mike, I said 'Bye' and I'll let myself out." Tom told her.
"Ok, see you later and Congratulations, it will be great to be neighbours." Beth told him, Tom gave a nod and left.
"No, not happening." Sasha said shaking her head as she chopped up the vegetables for their dinner.
"You need to take care of yourself." Tom told her, if looks were could kill; Tom would be cremated remains right now.
"I-" Sasha modulated her tone. "I am. I don't need to be micromanaged. You're not moving without me." she informed him hotly.
"You're carrying three babies." Tom reminded her.
"I know and my body is still fully functioning. I don't need a spa trip." Sasha grouched. She was trying to not take things personally and to be relaxed but it wasn't working. She had envisioned making a home with Tom not being sent off to a hotel so she wouldn't get in the way. He didn't even offer her the option. He just told her she was going like he was giving her an order.
"I didn't say you needed a spa trip. I was offering it as an option because I'm a caring spouse. I thought you could take Beth as she needs a day off. Mike is a drama queen when he's sick." Tom said, Sasha shot him a dark look as the only drama queen she saw right now was Tom and all his 'good deeds' being shot to hell because she wanted to be an active participant in their life together.
"Really?" Sasha asked incredulously.
"Yeah, Kaito down with cold and teething. She'll need a break." Tom said, Sasha's eyebrows rose and she pursed her lips as now he was trying to manipulate her.
"So now you're trying to spin that I should take Beth to a spa trip extravaganza as a huge favour to her. The trip just has to coincide with when you and the kids move house?" Sasha asked sceptically.
"Think of it how you will, as long as go and relax." Tom said as he moved behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders and gently massaged; but instead of relaxing her, it just made her more tense.
"It's that important to you that I not be there?" Sasha asked him.
"Yes, I love you but it would stress me out if you were there. I'd be constantly worrying if you were ok." Tom said honestly.
"Ok, fine I'll do it under protest." Sasha relented even though it hurt to be excluded.
"Thank you. I love you." Tom told her as he kissed her neck.
"Well, you're lucky I love you." Sasha informed him, drily.
"Daddy, you are worse than when I left you this morning. Did you drink lots of water?" Mia asked him, she sat on the floor on the opposite side of the coffee table with her schoolwork all laid out. Beth and Sienna were in the kitchen getting Dinner ready for them all.
"Yes." Mike said as he gave Kaito a toy to droll over. Kaito immediately stuffed the toy into his mouth and gnawed on it with an exhausted sigh. He was decidedly over the whole being sick and teething thing.
"Eat your banana?" Mia asked, she had given him a banana to eat before she left for school that morning.
"I had two today." Mike told her.
"Soup and medicine?" She asked.
"Yes." Mike answered with amusement.
"Are you sure? I don't want you die like Mommy." Mia told him, Mike blinked as the conversation took a very dark and yet honest.
"It's just a cold." Mike assured her.
"Mommy just had a cold too." Mia said as she pretended to do her homework. He could see she was worried just as Sienna and Beth were. He wished he could say or do something to reassure them all but they all lived through hell together where people did die from a cold.
"I'm going be ok. Beth makes me steam my face with this disgusting smelling stuff but it clears out all the snot." Mike told her, which was true as he stank of some weird peppermint smell.
"Ew." Mia said scrunching her nose. Mike chuckled.
"It means nothing can fester in there and make me feel worse. But you should be aware colds last a few days and at the first sign of trouble, I'll call Dr Rios. Ok?" He asked her, Mia gave a nod but still looked unsure of what to do or how to deal with the situation.
"Ok. Do you feel better than yesterday?" She asked him.
"Yes, I do, I'm just still a little sick today." Mike assured her.
"Ok, well I gotta talk to you about something very important." Mia told him.
"What's that?" Mike asked.
"I got to whisper it so Beth can't hear." Mia told him, she rose to her feet and ran around to his side and climbed onto the lounge beside him. Mike leaned in and listened to Mia whisper in his ear and smiled.
"Sammy! If you don't take Zuma for a walk we're eating him for dinner." Sasha pronounced as she nearly tripped over the dog while trying to get dinner together. For some reason Zuma decided she was his favourite human and would not leave her alone. Add in her annoyance of not being allowed to help move house and being forced to endure spa treatments and the impending doom of her ass not fitting into her pants- well she had reached her limit for the day.
"What?" Sammy asked in shock as he was playing Xbox.
"It will happen, I know a good recipe." Sasha promised him.
"She's joking." Tom assured Sammy.
"I'm not. Tonight is not a meatless night either." Sasha said dead serious as Zuma bumped into her leg and licked her ankle. Sammy took her word and turned off his game and practically jumped off the couch and grabbed Zuma's leash.
"We're going for walk. Come on Zuma." Sammy said, within minutes Sammy and a protesting Zuma left the house. Once the door was closed, Sasha blew out a slow breath and felt herself relax just a bit.
"Did I stress you out too much?" Tom asked her.
"No, I'm fine. I just want to finish cooking dinner without tripping over Zuma. That's all." Sasha said.
"It's the spa thing. Isn't it?" Tom asked.
"No, it's not. I'm just easily annoyed at the moment." Sasha said aggravated by the prodding reminder of how she was being sidelined not by her choice.
"Ok, maybe you should teach me how to cook. That way, I might be somewhat reasonable at cooking when you need a break." Tom said, Sasha wanted to tell him to piss off but decided he was right and given they were at the 'stir and don't burn everything' stage; she stepped back.
"Ok." She said accepting his help.
"Something on your mind Sienna?" Beth asked as they were setting the table.
"No, I'm ok." Sienna said nonchalantly but Beth knew it was a lie. The house had a weird vibe to it ever since Mike and Kaito caught a cold. Beth knew why, it pained her that there was nothing any of them could really do but endure it.
"Yeah, you've been quiet for the last couple days. I thought maybe something was bothering you?" Beth asked, pushing Sienna's buttons on purpose.
"Nope." Sienna replied as she placed cutlery on the table.
"You know, Ashley is moving in next door. That's pretty cool." Beth offered.
"Yeah, it is." Sienna replied.
"Sienna, you can talk to me." Beth said in a low voice. Sienna stopped and looked to Beth.
"Kaito and Dad are still sick, he's never caught a cold like ever and Kaito's so small." Sienna told her, Beth nodded in agreement. It seemed all their problems stemmed from the past.
"I know, but it's only fair your Dad catches a cold now." Beth quipped but Sienna shot her a look. "He'll be ok, they both will be and I'm keeping a close eye on them. They are still eating, drinking fluids and resting. We just have to wait out now, I'm not worried." Beth assured her, hoping her confidence would help Sienna feel more comfortable about it all.
"Mom looked like she was getting better before she got worse." Sienna reminded her.
"I know, but we have a warm cosy house, proper blankets and food. We also have Doctor we can call if things gets worse and need more medicine." Beth said reminding her of everything they had. It felt cruel to compare Christine's death and all the things that lead to it in comparison to now. But Beth wanted Sienna to see the situation was different.
"Yeah," Sienna agreed even if she didn't look comforted.
"It'll be ok." Beth said as she gave Sienna's arm a gentle squeeze.
"Ok." Sienna replied with a closed lip smile.
Later that evening,
"I didn't do too badly." Tom said as he and Sasha reclined on the couch watching some nonsense TV show. He wasn't paying attention as he only had eyes for Sasha.
"No, though, maybe slow cooker is more your forte. You know, toss the cheapest cut of meat with veggies into one pot and turn it on to leave to cook throughout the day." Sasha suggested as she rested her head on his chest and gave a yawn.
"I'm afraid of those things exploding." Tom told her.
"That's a pressure cooker." Sasha told him with a chuckle.
"I'm pretty sure that slow cookers explode too." he quipped.
"Hmm, you could try but given we have to sell this joint. It's probably best not to damage the place." Sasha advised him.
"Good point." Tom remarked casually, "So am I forgiven yet?" he asked.
"Nothing to forgive. I'm just disappointed that I'll be left out of all the fun of moving." Sasha told him.
"Only the major furniture moving. There will be lots of smaller logistical issues like sorting out kitchen drawers and and packing clothes away when you get back. I just want you out of the way while we're doing the heavy lifting." Tom explained.
"You're exiling me. Soon, I'll be exiled from work, can you just see it from my side. I know, I wanted to have a baby; I just didn't expect to be ordered around and told what not to do so much." Sasha told him.
"It's only the move." Tom told her
"First it's the move, then I won't be allowed to exercise or lift anything. I'll have to go on maternity leave much sooner and you'll start talking about how we need a housekeeper because I have to 'relax' and 'take things easier'. It annoys me that I will be coddled. If I wasn't pregnant, none of this would happen." She told him in a matter fact manner, Tom had to silently admit she was right.
"I can't help it, Darien had a rough time with Sammy and ended up going into preterm labor. Sammy was in NICU for 5 weeks... it was a terrifying experience that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. You're pregnant with Triplets. I want to make sure the pregnancy goes smoothly and with as little stress as we can manage." Tom told her.
"I hear you, but this is my body and I'm allowed to have a say in what I do with it and my career." she reminded him.
Beth gave a happy sigh as she relaxed into the bed beside Mike and pulled the blankets up to her chin. Sienna and Mia were in their beds and presumably asleep. Mike and Kaito had had a long steam in the shower before Kaito was put into his cot to sleep.
"You cold?" He asked, he had to admit he didn't like being quarantined in his own bed and away from Beth. He was too used to her curled up next to him when he slept. He knew he should keep his distance given his cold but he liked the comfort of holding her.
"Nope, don't even think about it." Beth told him as she could read his thoughts.
"What? I'm your heater." He told her innocently.
"I'm trying not to get sick." Beth whimpered in a frustrated manner.
"Too late, you lost that battle when Kaito sneezed in your face and tried to share his teething snack with you." He reminded her as he pulled her into his body and wrapped his arms around her. It was better than any pill or steaming concoction as he always felt good holding her.
"I don't want your cold. No." she told him with a playful pout as he grinned and looked at her like he was going to kiss her. "No." she said shaking her head trying to avoid his kiss.
"Yes, Yes." Mike teased they both chuckled as he managed to land a kiss on her lips.
"So evil." Beth told him between kisses as she completely caved to him.
